Category Archives: Racist

Beijing: The Chinese state news agency reported Monday that at least
129 people were killed and 816 injured when rioters clashed with the
police in a regional capital in western China after days of rising
tensions between Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese.

The rioting broke out Sunday afternoon in a large market area of
Urumqi, the capital of the vast, restive desert region of Xinjiang,
and lasted for several hours before riot police officers and
paramilitary or military troops locked down the Uighur quarter of the
city, according to witnesses and photographs of the riot.

Rioters on Sunday overturned barricades, attacking vehicles and houses, and clashed violently with police, according to media and witness accounts. State television aired footage showing protesters attacking and kicking people on the ground. Other people, who appeared to be Han Chinese, sat dazed with blood pouring down their faces. The demonstrators had been demanding justice for two Uighurs killed last month during a fight with Han Chinese co-workers at a factory in southern China.

At least 1,000 rioters threw stones at the police and set vehicles on
fire, sending plumes of smoke into the sky, while police officers used
fire hoses and batons to beat back rioters and detain Uighurs who
appeared to be leading the protest, witnesses said.
The casualty numbers appeared to be murky and shifting on Monday. A
one-line report by Xinhua, the state news agency, giving the estimate
of 129 dead and 816 injured attributed the numbers to the regional
police department, but did not quote officials by name and did not
have any details. Earlier, Xinhua had reported that three civilians
and one police officer had been killed.

So in what sense are the “China Muslims” the “target” here? It looks as if they are fairly efficiently targeting the Han Chinese. But in the Malaysian mainstream media, of course, Muslims are always the victims, no matter what.

The non-Muslim family members of Mohan Singh a/l Janot Singh cannot be a party to the dispute over his body as the core issue of his religious status at the time of death can only be determined by the Syariah Court, the High Court here heard.

Lawyer for the Selangor Islamic Council (Mais), Hanif Khatri Abdullah, said only “in the event” that the Syariah Court determines Mohan as non-Muslim at death, would his family members have lawful claim over his body.

“The argument of the applicants that they cannot be made a party in the Syariah Court is a non-starter … the applicants do not have locus to be a lawful party on this issue,” Hanif said in his submissions to the court which began hearing arguments on jurisdiction on Friday, 19 June. The court will also continue hearing submissions tomorrow.

Hanif’s submission was adopted in total by the federal government and the Selangor government which are also respondents in the judicial review filed by Mohan’s family, who are all Sikh.

The federal government is represented by senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan and the Selangor government by deputy state legal adviser Md Azhari Abu Hanit.

Mohan’s body is still being held at the Sungai Buloh Hospital mortuary. His family has filed for a judicial review on the hospital’s refusal to release his body to them for burial. The case is being heard by judge Rosnaini Saub.

Besides Mais, and the federal and Selangor governments, Mohan’s family have also named as respondents, the Health Ministry director-general, the Sungai Buloh Hospital director-general, and the Malaysian Consultative Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism.

Film director Mohan, who died of a heart attack on 25 May, had allegedly converted to Islam on 11 Aug 1992.

“The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, said any move which questions the interests of the Malays and Bumiputeras in terms of scholarships and places of study not only violates the fundamental provisions in the federal and state constitutions but also questions the sovereignty of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Malay Rulers.

He said Clause 2 of Article 153 of the Federal Constitution provided the King with specific powers to safeguard the interests of the Malays as well as the Bumiputeras in Sabah and Sarawak in terms of scholarships and places of study.”

The monarch represents an important institution in the country. Hence, his statement above is not going to help us to look beyond the question of race when addressing the issue of educational opportunity in the country.

Is it racist when a non-Malay student demands his right to a place in a local university or to be given a scholarship if he/she did exceptionally well in a public exam? Isn’t it problematic if a remarkable student was not offered a course of choice in a local university or being denied a scholarship to pursue higher education but an opportunity was given to a less remarkable one?

Over the years, the issue of university placement and scholarship has continued to harm and frustrate many parents and students. Many good students had to look for study grants overseas which had resulted in a massive brain drain for the country.

It does not have to be a zero sum game. Giving more places of study and scholarships to more non-Malay Malaysians does not have to come at the expense of the Malays. Any government would have been proud to provide opportunities to its people especially youths to acquire the highest level of education possible so that they can return to contribute to the country’s development.

It is no longer an issue about the Malay rights or supremacism. It is about retaining the best brains in the country. Most knowledge based economies are no longer merely competing for FDI but FHCI (Foreign Human Capital Investment).

Hence, the Sultan of Perak should have asked the government to try to accommodate as many bright Malaysian students as possible, regardless of race or creed, by offering them places in the local universities or giving them scholarships to study abroad.

He should have encouraged the government to correct the flaws in the scholarship and university admission processes so that the issue of deprivation and unfairness can be solved once and for all.

Instead, his warning to the complainants not to question these rights (access to scholarships and places of study) because their action is akin to challenging his sovereignty and authority is most unfortunate and unproductive.

A constitutional monarch is supposed to be a symbol of unity and sovereignty of all Malaysians, not just the Malays or Bumiputeras.

His statement will leave a deep impact on the society’s direction and nation building. On race relations, this country has a long bumpy road ahead to travel.

KOTA KINABALU: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is keen to see the controversial Mazu statue issue in the Kudat district settled amicably.

“I am always hoping for a settlement out of court,” the Prime Mi­­nister said when asked about the issue.

Najib said the door “is always open for us to settle the matter.”

The issue ended up in court after former chief minister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat, who headed the Kudat Thean Hou Charitable Foundation, sued Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman and three other state government officers for ordering the withdrawal of the approval for the Mazu statue project on Nov 15, 2007.

Chong had abruptly resigned from Musa’s Cabinet on April 13, 2007.

Last week, the Court of Appeal granted a stay of proceedings on the Mazu statue project trial until the disposal of an appeal to overturn a previous High Court decision.

The High Court had, on April 21, dismissed an application by Musa and three others to declare the foundation illegal.

On Dec 30, 2007, Najib, who was then deputy prime minister, had expressed hope that the Mazu issue would be resolved as Sabah’s multi-ethnic and multi-religious people had a high level of religious and racial tolerance.

On his trip to Sabah, Najib said he found that the people’s response very positive, adding that it was an indication that the people were still strongly with the Barisan Nasional.

Sabah Commissioner of Police Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim said a total of 1,970 cases were reported during the period compared to 2,393 cases during the corresponding period last year, a decrease of 423 cases or 17.68 per cent.

He also said Sabah recorded a 40.2 per cent crime-solving rate, a fair achievement considering that the Interpol rate is 20 per cent.

“In terms of Sabah’s population, the crime ratio is one victim to 1,662 residents. We want to improve this further to one victim to 2,000 residents,” he said after opening a meeting of Sabah district police chiefs, here, Wednesday.

Noor Rashid said of the 22 police districts in Sabah including Labuan, Kota Kinabalu topped the list, followed by Penampang, Tawau, Sandakan and Lahad Datu.

On violent crimes such as murder, robbery and fighting, he said there were 313 cases in the first quarter this year compared to 412 during the same period last year.

Though the other violent crime cases dropped, murder cases increased from 20 to 22.

Using a new approach to deal with such cases like the formation of a task force to help other districts, most of the murder cases were solved within 48 hours, said Noor Rashid. On property theft, he said the number of cases also dropped to 1,657 for the first quarter compared to 1,981 during last first quarter.

“But the disturbing trend is an increase in motorcycle thefts. Last first quarter had 105 cases of motorcycle theft but during this year’s first quarter, there were 170 cases with 25 cases solved,” he said. Urging the public to take extra safety measures when parking their motorcycles in light of the increase in such thefts, Noor Rashid said he expected the trend to worsen due to better roads in Sabah now and more youngsters having own motorcycles.